A unique opportunity presented itself here last night. We've served both species at past events, but never together and never as a deliberate comparison before. We even had a true southern gentleman and his wife here (both grew up near to Memphis) to be somewhat-unbiased observers. I grilled some quail that had been shot & skinned and frozen last November (not ideal, clearly), but we brined them carefully and kept them in a simple marinade of olive oil, parsley flakes, paprika, and salt & pepper. I'd aged these birds before cleaning and freezing them, however, and grilled them whole, very carefully, to not overcook or dry them out. By all accounts from the gathered sports folks who consumed them, they were very good indeed. I then plated some ruffed grouse for them to try. These birds were also aged, skinned, and then brined. I did, however, pound some bacon strips very thin and then wrapped the cleaned individual breast and other tender parts. Pared with a good sauvignon blanc (and perhaps some good bourbon Old-Fashioneds) we performed the side-by-side taste tests. Even my Southern Folks (who'd never had ruffed grouse before) had to admit that ruffed grouse was pretty spectacular. We then went on to compare grilled mule deer with elk (which I made something-of a hash of because I'd overcooked the deer tenderloins, not severely....but still more than I would normally do). Served with a mild parm/romano cheese & onion polenta, a poached-pear salad, and gorgonzola blue-cheese sauce (with a cranberry-horseradish condiment) I didn't get a chance to solicit input (on my 3rd Old Fashioned by that point and somehow forgot) but....there were no leftovers. Shovelling snow here this AM in 16-degree below zero weather and feeling the effects of the prior evening's event. Ho, Ho, Ho!
Sounds wonderful. For Christmas eve I am going to smoke several pheasant breast on the Treager, with bacon wrapped dove breast as appetizers. For the football games Christmas day, I am making six different types of seasoned pork belly strips, each about 3/8- 1/2" thick on the Treager again. Kind of a cross between bacon and jerky with anything from sweet, to salty, to tangy or hot spicy flavoring. They all go away quickly. Only a snack as the prime rib will be the main course later.
I have been thinking about doing a quail, chukar and pheasant or duck combination. Might make a good New Year Day menu with black eye peas. Thanks for the inspiration.
Can't think of any wild game that when served with: Cheesy grits, cathead biscuits, black eyed peas and collards as side dishes would not be downright delectable. If I have "over-done" slightly waterfowl, I have found that serving cranberry jelly with duck or goose works rather well. RWTF..
These types of comparisons are alway difficult, because there are so many variables. I've never eaten quail, but really like ruffed grouse. But I'd bet there are plenty of cooks that could screw it up. And as John Roberts notes, a bacon wrap will cover a multitude of sins.
I really believe that it makes a huge difference how game is prepared, beginning from before time it was shot. The diet of a game animal certainly has an effect upon taste and quality. A guy I know who raised very high quality beef for very expensive restaurants told me that it was very important to even do the slaughtering with great care. He fed his beef cows beer on the day of slaughter to have them as relaxed as possible before killing them. He said it was very important to not have them stressed in any manner so that there was no excess adrenaline pumped into their system when they died. And he told me that people who complain about wild game simply don't know how to care for it.
Ever since, I have done my utmost to kill my game as quiclky as possible. I'd rather pass up a shot than risk a poor shot that would mean wounding and trailing. I have tried to do most of my hunting near agricultural areas where there was higher quality feed. And I truly believe it makes a difference. Then there is the care in gutting, cleaning, bleeding out, and aging if the temperature cooperates. Spoilage never helps. So if it makes a difference with beef or venison, does it also make a difference with a grouse or pheasant? Would a runner with a broken wing taste different than a bird that was dead in the air?
One of the best and most memorable pieces of meat I ever ate was tenderloin from a young sow black bear. It was as good or better than any filet mignon I ever had. And one of the worst tasting pieces of meat was steak from a large boar black bear that had been shot and tracked for hours before being finished off. It was tough, and not all all enjoyable. I wanted to spit it out. So does that mean bear meat is good or bad?
What kind of meat do people usually add to bacon when cooking it?
We frequently do either whole grouse or pheasant roasted in a Dutch oven. Grouse needs nothing except for some mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, butter, white wine, salt & pepper. Pheasant tends to be dry & is much better prepared the same + 5 strips of bacon barded across the breast.
Third Old Fashioned? Your account reads like you had a few more, to end with mulie hash? Should'a called it braised estate stag bourguignon with tater tots. Alcoholic beverages and bacon might be an unfair edge, but the entire spread sounds absolutely great. A big Merry Christmas.
That meal sounds very tasty Lloyd. This year I'm serving Candied Grouse w/blueberry moonshine, a slight variation of a popular recipe around here. Enjoy the Christmas feast everyone!
I've never eaten ruffed grouse, but I once had the good fortune to attend a corporate off-site that on a ranch in south Texas owned by one of the corporate officers. We actually had two days of meetings followed by a quail hunt. The following morning, the ranch cook did fried quail for breakfast. They literally dragged one of my colleagues and me out of the place to catch the bus back to the airport. We'd eaten more quail than I care to admit at this stage in life and would have gladly continued to consume them as long as the cook continued to provide them. Needless to say, we left him a very generous tip.
My late shooting buddy was from a dyed in the wool quail hunting family and consequently his Mom was a top notch wild game cook. She insisted that quail were to be plucked and not skinned. I have fond memories of sitting at huge table accompanied by the family and eating her fried quail, biscuits, gravy, and homemade preserves.
The only thing I’ve noticed that affects the flavor of either one, is how quickly you get the guts out of it.
And that’s purely because when you shoot them with a shotgun their guts get perforated, and it can taint the flavor pretty quickly.
If you gave me two platters of spatchcocked birds, dusted with seasoned flour and then fried in a cast-iron skillet, I would eat the bobwhite quail first.
I've got an old Remington pocket knife with a gut hook. I drop the guts (quail) ASAP, no later than at hunt's end, because of its digestive juices permeating the meat through shot channels. Never have a tainted taste with doves, however. Quail eat a lot of hard seed which requires a turn or two in the gizzard then strong digestive juices. I age woodcock with guts in. Never had a problem with taste with dove or woodcock when leaving guts in for several days refrigerated before cleaning. Gil
My late shooting buddy was from a dyed in the wool quail hunting family and consequently his Mom was a top notch wild game cook. She insisted that quail were to be plucked and not skinned. I have fond memories of sitting at huge table accompanied by the family and eating her fried quail, biscuits, gravy, and homemade preserves.
If there's any dish better than properly fried wild bobwhite quail I don't need it. The only thing I would add to the above side dishes would be grits. When I get to the pearly gates, if St. Peter meets me and says I can have anything for supper I want I'll just look at him and, in my best Big Bopper impersonation, I'll answer "Awww baby, you knooooooow what I like!"
I've never eaten bobwhites but have eaten CA quail along with many other N American upland birds, including the 3 species of forest grouse, ruffed, blue and spruce, ptarmigan and sharptails If I had a choice, it would probably be chukar at the #1 position, with quail and ruffed grouse close to chukar and pheasants falling closely behind those! I've cooked all in so many different ways, I've forgotten some of the ways I've cooked them but about my favorite is pounded flat, flour and egg dipped, then rolled in a panko batter, seasoned and fried with a country gravy and mashed spuds. I can do without spruce grouse!
Cameron, I don’t think very many people here know the great spanse of game bird fleshes. Essentially (excluding sprucies), the more they fly, the darker the meat. Most people condemn dark fleshed game birds.
Ruffies and quail are as white as it gets.
I just think quail are more tender at the ends of their bones.
You can cook quail until it’s falling apart tender, less able with ruffies. They’ll dry out before the collagen breaks down.
Yes Clapper, I think in general that's true! Not sure how to categorize spruce grouse in the vein of how much a bird flies...very dark meat and one can hardly get them to fly! One way I used to cook ptarmigan, which remind me of sharptails, and any upland bird will work well, IMO, is in an etouffee! I used ptarmigan due to having a freezer full of them when I lived in AK and ran out of ideas on how to cook them! Probably be a waste of a good bird to cook quail, chukar or ruffed grouse in this manner!